Slatwall is formed by a number of spaced horizontal boards that form uniform slots between adjacent boards. The boards have a lip that forms a slot for removably receive cooperating hangers that press against and grip one board and one lip to support the hanger and resist downward forces such as the weight of an object. The hangers are free to pivot upwardly to release from the slatwall for repositioning or removing the hangers. The hangers support items that hang directly from them or support shelving upon which those items are placed. Slatwall is commonly used in a wide variety of residential, retail and commercial setting to display and store a wide variety of items.
Slatwall is commonly extruded from plastics such as rigid PVC. Extruded slatwall sections have been formed to include a number of boards as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,344, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. Unfortunately, there are several problems with conventional plastic extrusions. One problem is the trade off between the physical characteristics and cost of the plastic material used to make the slatwall extrusion. Rigid PVC has a relatively high viscosity due to fillers such as lime stone and clay. This material tends to hold its cross-sectional profile during the heated extrusion process so that it is easy with which to work. Although rigid PVC is relatively strong, it is fairly expensive and rather heavy. Rigid PVC costs about $1.00 a pound and has a specific gravity of about 1.4 to 1.5. As a result, slatwall assemblies made from this material tend to be expensive and cumbersome with which to work.
Another problem with conventional slatwall extrusions is that they should be fairly rigidity. The slatwall extrusion should deform as little as possible when loaded, particularly at the top wall and lip supporting the hanger and along its rear surface where the slatwall is secured to the supporting wall. Yet, to reduce the amount of material and cost of the slatwall, channels may be formed along the rear wall. The front surface of the boards typically remain flat to achieve a desired appearance. The size of the channel along the rear of each board is restricted to maintain the strength. If the channel is too deep or too wide, the slatwall may bow or otherwise deform under load and allow one or more hangers to pop out. Cyclically loading and unloading items supported by the hangers and slatwall as items are sold and restocked tends to flex the rear wall of the slatwall where the fasteners secure it to the wall. This can loosen the fasteners and allow them to break free, causing a hanger or shelf to slip and its contents to fall and break. People in the vicinity could be injured by heavy or sharp objects. Should one of the top portions of the slatwall or hangers give way, a cascading effect could result.
A further problem with conventional slatwall extrusions is that their extrusion profile is intended for mechanical fasteners to secure the slatwall to a supporting surface. Screws or nails are typically located in the slots at spaced locations. These mechanical fasteners work well when properly driven into the wall studs at properly spaced intervals, but can be problematic when some of the fasteners inadvertently miss their intended stud. Many modern building constructions use metal studs at varying increments that can be difficult to locate. Metal studs also do not readily receive ordinary screws by workers using ordinary tools. Mechanical fasteners such as screws are also less effective and reliable when secured to drywall. The end result is a poorly installed and unsafe slatwall assembly.
The present invention is intended to solve these and other problems.